Not long ago I received a text message from a dad saying that his son would be out for 4-8 weeks due to a hip injury. The kid is 15 and had just gotten back from another country where he spent 1 month playing a lot of soccer. Obviously this trip didn’t cause the issue, there had to be issues before. Playing many games or doing lots of fitness is usually what causes injuries.
Too much fitness
Unfortunately too many of the high school coaches have the players do months of PT [performance training]…
This type of workout is usually run by someone who never played soccer.
On top of all that these kids also play club… Therefore, players end up being over worked causing different injuries in soccer…
There’s no need to do more than 2 weeks of fitness sessions, trust me.
The kids already play year round!
It’s better to do 10-20 mins of fitness before or after a regular sessions for a few weeks of pre-season, but that’s it.
There’s also a way to add fitness with a ball and the best coaches know this.
Doctors orders
Anyhow, this particular injury the doctor wanted him to only rest, no rehab for a few weeks…
Therefore, I sent him some ideas to do for his shoulders in the pool, which would help keep his cardio up without irritating the injury.
Below you’ll find ideas to stay in shape while dealing with injuries.
Knowing the severity of your injury
Most injuries require 2 days of rest [RICE method] and then doing strengthening, while other injuries may need complete rest.
2 Examples:
- A sprain will most likely require a few days rest and then start rehabilitation.
- Hip evulsion is where the tendon is swollen and pulls away from the bone [more serious and requires 4 weeks off before therapy].
If you have an ankle injury do this
Ankle injuries are very common and usually after 2 days of RICE method you start strengthening/rehab.
To keep your heart rate up you can ride the stationary bike because it shouldn’t hinder the healing.
Running will slow the progression because of the pounding, which is why the bike is good for you – when the injury is fresh.
Hip, groin, gluteus exercises which are easy to do at home [no equipment].
You can also do any upper body exercises that don’t require you to get off balance, therefore irritating your ankle sprain.
Core exercises like these are other great thing to do while you have ankle problems.
After your ankle has had a couple days rest do these 2 easy at home strengthening exercises.
Hip injuries in soccer
2 main hip problems for soccer players:
- Pulled groin
- Hip flexor pull
In addition to this, some older players [teens and up] get hip evulsions which isn’t common, but it’s something to know about.
What you can do to stay fit [besides your physical therapy].
3 Light weight shoulder exercises:
- Rotations both directions
- Wing flaps
- Crossing arms
If you have a swimming pool and the weather is warm do it in the water [neck deep] to add the resistance.
No access to a pool?
Instead using light weights [5-10 pounds] is very beneficial.
Keep it light so that your hip flexor doesn’t have to do any work.
The goal is to get your heart rate up.
Lower and upper back pain tips
Lower back pain is harder to deal with because it’s closer to the core of your body.
In other words, almost every movement causes it to hurt – turning, bending…
You need your core and lower back to do so much.
Therefore, it can be difficult to work out other muscles because it can slow your progression in the low back area.
These injuries in soccer usually happen to ages 15+.
WHEN the INJURY IS FRESH…
- Good idea: Light leg strengthening exercises. One legged balancing or sit down and do leg extensions with light weight.
- Bad idea: Core workouts or anything else that makes you contract your back.
WHEN it’s TIME to REHAB…
You can start to strengthen the back and muscles around it.
A lot of what you do depends on if it’s 1-2 days prior to the injury or how severe it is.
Always consult with a physician when dealing with prolonged injuries in soccer. Especially if this injury happened while lifting weights.
Stay fit when dealing with knee injuries in soccer
When it comes to knee injuries one thing you can for sure do are core workouts.
Sit ups and side crunches are something that you can do to get a little cardio at the same time to build your stomach.
In addition, do some superman variations to build back strength.
These glut, groin and hip-flexor exercises are other good ways to get exercise – even though you have an injured knee.
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